Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2000

Road Safety (Amendment) Act 2000, PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA 

Clause 6

New offences relating to driving while impaired by a drug

Section 49(1)

(ba) Drives a motor vehicle or is in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug; or;
(ca) refuses to undergo an assessment of drug impairment in accordance with section 55A when required under that section to do so or refuses to comply with any other requirement made under
section 55A(1);

Clause 9

New sections 55A, 55B and 55C inserted

Section 55A – Drug assessment

(1) A member of the police force may at any time require—
(a) Any person he or she finds driving a motor vehicle or in charge of a motor vehicle; or
(b) The driver of a motor vehicle that has been required to stop at a preliminary breath testing station under section (3); or
(c) Any person who he or she believes on reasonable grounds has within the last 3 preceding hours driven or been in charge of a motor vehicle when it was involved in an accident; or
(d) Any person who he or she believes on reasonable grounds was, within the last 3 preceding hours, an occupant of a motor vehicle when it was involved in an accident, if it has not been established to the satisfaction of the member of the police force which of the occupants was driving or in charge of the motor vehicle when it was involved in the accident; or
(f) Any person required under section 55 to furnish a sample of breath or from whom a sample of blood was required to be taken under section 55(9A)— to undergo an assessment of drug impairment if, in the opinion of the member, that person’s behaviour or appearance indicates that he or she may be impaired for a reason other than alcohol alone and for that purpose may further require the person to accompany a member of the police force to a place where the assessment is to be carried out and to remain there until the assessment has been carried out or until 3 hours after the driving, being an occupant of or being in charge of the motor vehicle, whichever is sooner.

Clause 5

Interpretative provisions

Section 48

(1AC) For the purposes of an alleged offence against paragraph (ba) of section 49(1) it must be presumed that a drug found by an analyst to be present in the sample of blood or urine taken from the person charged was not due solely to the consumption or use of that drug after driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle unless the contrary is proved by the person charged on the balance of probabilities by sworn evidence given by him or her which is corroborated by the material evidence of another person.
(1AD) For the purposes of sections 55A and 55B, a driver is not to be taken to be impaired unless his or her behaviour or appearance is such as to give rise to a reasonable suspicion that he or she is unable to drive properly.”.